One Singular Sensation
by ServeMeTheSky
Summary: Makoto upsets the wrong person! Setsuna doesn't understand science fiction! Rei is seduced in an unusual way! Haruka gets an early morning wake-up call! A collection of one-shots, featuring the inners and the outers. HaruMichi, ReiMina, AmiMako and whoever else comes to my yuri-based mind. Constructive criticism is always appreciated (or just a line to say you liked it!). Enjoy!
1. Mirage (HxM)

A/N - Whoops, forgot to add this in when I first posted. I do not own Sailor Moon! All I own is this mug of coffee, and even that was a gift from someone. Anyway, since I discovered some time on my hands recently, I thought I would do a little writing for a fandom I love. Please enjoy, and review if you like (:

* * *

><p><span>Mirage<span>

Everything was…blurry. Or fuzzy. Or maybe hazy. Ooh, hazy was a good one.

Yeah, hazy.

Heyyyzeee.

Yeah.

And everything looked like it was sideways. That was so cool. She'd definitely have to ask if they could keep it that way.

But maybe not have everything spin so much. She was getting dizzy...maybe she was going to pass ou-

* * *

><p>Everything was…bright. Too bright. Seriously, was the sun closer? Ugh, Ami hadn't taken them all to Mercury again, had she? It was always so cold there. Wait, was it the Silver Millennium? That was this lifetime, right? Ugh, why was it so hard to think?<p>

Maybe this was Heaven. That was supposed to be bright and stuff, right? Oww…but her head was pounding. Could you feel pain in Heaven? Wait, could Sailor Senshi even _go_ to Heaven? Weren't they, like, immortal or something? Ugh, why was it so hard to think?

No…this couldn't be Heaven. She didn't remember dying (and she knew a thing or two or dying). Besides, if she died, Michiru would kill her. Ooh, maybe she was having a near-death experience. That would explain all the pounding in her head, and the really weird taste in her mouth. And the bright lights. Yeah. That sounded logical.

Wait, the light was changing. Well, not changing, but there was something shimmering. A greeny-blue blur was appearing. And a delicate floral scent wafting towards her. Mmmmm.

"…uka….been….inking?"

Was the blur making those noises? It seemed to be moving closer to her, the scent was filling her nostrils.

"…ruka, I sai…een drinki...?"

It was definitely the blur making those dulcet tones. And that scent…god, it smelled so good. Nothing on Earth could smell like that. Or sound like that. The notes that voice were making were heavenly. She definitely knew what this mirage was.

Right, that settled it.

"Are you…an angel?"

The blur made a musical sound, like it was laughing. It was perfect. A warm hand caressed her cheek and everything started to fade away…

* * *

><p>Michiru crept through the darkened house, trying to find her partner. She had been away from home for the past week on a concert tour, and her last phone call from Setsuna suggested that Haruka was missing her greatly.<p>

_She's wandering around the house like a little lost lamb, Michiru. I'd be teasing her immensely if I didn't feel so sorry for her._

The violinist stepped into the living room and turned the lights on. There, sprawled out across the sofa, half-empty bottle of whiskey on the floor next to her was her tow-haired lover. Her heart went out to her. Despite her playboy façade and reputation for living life in the fast lane, metaphorically and literally speaking, Haruka was not one for drinking. She always liked to remain in control with her wits about her, and the fact she had been drinking suggested that their separation had been especially hard on her.

She knelt on the floor next to her. "Haruka, have you been drinking?"

Said blonde slowly blinked and shifted her head so she fully faced Michiru, but didn't respond.

She tried again. "Haruka, I said have you been drinking?"

This got a better response. Haruka stirred slightly and looked like she was trying to focus on her.

"Are you…an angel?"

Michiru laughed, she couldn't help it. She raised a hand to her lover's face and gently stroked her cheek. Haruka closed her eyes and slipped into sleep. God, she was perfect.


	2. Kaleidoscope (RU)

A/N - Good morning, one and all! Do I look older? I feel older. Tis my birthday after all, and so my present from me to you is this little Rei/Usagi drabble. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>Kaleidoscope<span>

Rei sighed in contentment as she viewed her morning's work. The flowerbeds had been watered, the weeds had been removed and she had just this moment finished sweeping the grounds. She leant against her broom and silently congratulated herself on a job well done.

She didn't spend too long praising herself though. It was an irrefutable fact of her life that the moment she paused for breath after spending several hours tidying and straightening, that a certain blonde-haired menace would come careening up the shrine steps and demand that Rei not put her feet up, but entertain her instead.

Rei cocked her head and listened. She couldn't hear anything other than the wind whistling softly through the trees.

Maybe today was going to turn out to be a good day.

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and started walking back towards her room. She'd make a nice cup of tea then try and make some serious headway into that new manga series she had bought. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

But wait.

What was that sound? It sounded a lot like…

Rei grimaced. It sounded a hell of a lot like someone racing up the shrine steps despite someone else pointing out a thousand times that this was a place of peace and tranquillity and all that racket was seriously pis-

"Rei-chan!"

Kami. Couldn't she catch a break? She got good grades at school, she helped her grandfather out around the shrine and in her spare time she transformed into a magical girl and fought the Forces Of Evil with her magical girl friends. Couldn't she have one afternoon to herself?

"Ne, Rei-chan!"

Said girl reluctantly turned around and saw a pair of blonde odangoes appear at the top of the steps, closely followed by a highly excitable girl still calling out her name.

"Rei-chan, Rei-chan, look at this, isn't it cool? Mako-chan found it and gave it to me!"

"Usagi, how many times have I told you to keep the noise down, this is a shrine!" Rei snapped out as Usagi screeched to a halt in front of her, panting slightly. At the admonishment, Usagi went wide-eyed, tears already beginning to well up, and her lip started to quiver. She sniffed.

"But Rei-chan, I just wanted to show this to you…"

Oh Kami. Not the sad puppy-dog eyes. And how does she manage to make her lip do that? Rei relented.

"Oh fine. What is it?"

Usagi immediately brightened up. _Seriously, was this girl bipolar or something?_ She fished a small brightly-coloured tube out of her pocket and held it out triumphantly. "It's this! Mako-chan said she was clearing out her apartment and she found it and gave it to me. It's called a colliding-scope! C'mon, let's go inside and I'll show it to you!" She tugged on Rei's arm to encourage the miko to move and set off towards the building. Rei dragged her heels behind her. There was no way now that she was going to have any time to herself today.

"I think you mean kaleidoscope, Usagi."

"That's what I _said_, Rei-chan, because all the colours and shapes collide together!" Usagi was practically dancing on the threshold now, impatiently waiting for Rei to catch up. "Hey, do you have any new manga's?"

Rei eyed the broom she was still carrying. How easy would it be to beat herself to death with it? Probably not that easy, her senshi powers would kick in before any real damage was done. She sighed and followed Usagi inside.


	3. Sandpaper (RxM)

A/N - This is my first time writing something that resembles angst (or hurt/comfort), and I did find this particular prompt a little tricky, but I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. Please enjoy it, and happy new year!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Sandpaper<strong>

It was the early morning light flooding in through the window and bathing her face in warmth that woke Minako up. She groaned slightly and turned on her side in an attempt to bury her face in her pillow. She stayed in this position for a few seconds then slowly stretched her arm out across the other side of the bed. Empty. Minako opened her eyes and confirmed what she already knew. Rei was gone.

She stayed in this position for a few minutes, listening to the quiet sounds drifting in through the window and generally adjusted to being awake. Her wandering thoughts didn't take long to turn to her missing bed-mate. A quick glance at the clock told her that it wasn't yet seven o'clock. Minako knew that Rei woke up at four every morning in order to complete her prayers, and thus was one of life's early birds. She also knew that Rei was psychic and that she would be visited by visions on a regular basis. These two facts were fairly common knowledge.

What wasn't common knowledge however was the content of the visions, and their subsequent effect on the miko's sleep. Rei was generally taciturn, but Minako was good at reading her and was one of very few people that the shrine maiden would truly open up to.

The visions had been appearing for weeks now. Fractured images of red and black and death. Screaming and dying. Flashes of faces twisted in agony. Rei would spend hours tossing and turning in her sleep. Minako felt her heart lurch when she remembered the look of fear that had marred Rei's porcelain features in the night, and her own inability to fix it. So great was the toll on Rei's mental state that she had confessed to being afraid to fall asleep because the images would haunt her even there. She had taken to staying awake at all hours of the night, throwing herself into endless tasks in a desperate attempt to silence her mind.

Minako could feel the tears starting to prick at her eyes, and rolled out of bed and into a dressing gown before she fully succumbed to them. As she exited Rei's room she could hear noises coming from Rei's grandfather's room, which was peculiar given that he was away visiting a sister shrine. She made to her to the open door and peeked in. Rei was on her hands and knees facing away from her, and from the look of things, was making great headway on sanding down the skirting boards. To get as far as she had, Minako guessed that she had been working for at least an hour.

"Rei?" She called out quietly, so as not to startle the raven-haired girl. The girl in question turned her head to face her and offered a tired smile.

"Good morning, Mina. Is it that late already? Did you sleep well?" As she spoke she made her way to her feet, a flash of pain from her protesting limbs flitted across her beautiful features.

Minako pretended to ignore it and replied. "Ohayo, Rei-chan." She gave her a soft kiss. "Actually, it's not even seven o clock yet. I missed you in bed." She pulled the miko into her embrace and breathed in the combined scents of the smoke from the fire-room, the salt from the beads of exertion around Rei's hairline and something that was uniquely Rei and infinitely comfortable. As she released Rei she stroked her hand down her arm and tangled their fingers together. The skin was rough and worn and the ravenette winced when she applied pressure.

"Sorry Rei, did I hurt you?"

"No, it's okay, I'm fine." Rei protested but went quiet when Minako pulled their still entangled hands up to her face and inspected them. The pads on her fingertips were reddened and rubbed almost raw from the constant application of sandpaper. There was a gritty feel to Rei's hands from where the sand had transferred. Minako could almost swear she could hear the muscles and joints protest as she flattened Rei's hands out.

"Rei, your hands…" Minako was shocked. Rei must have been in terrible pain.

The miko looked down at the floor. "I know, Mina." She knew that her lover was getting increasingly worried about her since the onslaught of the visions. She knew Minako understood why she was here sanding down skirting boards first thing in the morning instead of still tucked up in bed, and she loved her for not questioning. Rei did feel guilty though for the state of her hands. She hadn't realised they were that bad. She was so focused on trying to tire herself out that she hadn't noticed the state she had gotten into.

The blonde placed two fingers under Rei's chin and coaxed her head up until they were eye-to-eye. Making sure Rei was still looking at her, she placed a little butterfly kiss on each of her fingertips. Rei couldn't help her heart swelling at this display of affection.

Minako smiled at her. "C'mon, the skirting boards will keep. How about I make you a nice, hot cup of tea then run you a nice, hot scented bath. It'll do you the world of good."

Rei returned the smile and pecked her on the cheek. "Sounds wonderful."

As they made their way of the room, Minako knew that what she was offering was only a temporary fix, but if it meant giving Rei even a small reprieve she would do it, and anything else, in a heartbeat.


	4. Better You Run (MxA)

**Better you run**

Within any group of people it quickly becomes apparent that everyone has one characteristic or personality trait that sets them apart from the others. Take their group for example. Usagi is the klutzy-yet-lovable one. Minako is the relentlessly cheerful one. Setsuna is the mysterious one and so on and so forth.

Makoto glanced over the top of her book at the girl sitting on the opposite side of the table. She and Ami were in the living room of Makoto's apartment, catching up on some homework. The blue-haired girl was chewing on the end of her pen, utterly absorbed in her science textbook. Her open notebook was on the table in front of her, neat handwriting filling both sides of the paper.

Ami was definitely the quiet one. Some would say unassuming, but Makoto would disagree, saying that unassuming is the same as ordinary, and there was nothing ordinary about Ami. She had a genius level IQ, but wasn't arrogant about it. She had to take care of herself a lot because her mother was always working, but she wasn't bitter about it. Their study sessions were constantly interrupted by Usagi, youma attacks, threats to the known world and Usagi, but she never lost her temper about it. People mistakenly think that they need to make a lot of noise in order to matter, but Makoto knew that wasn't true.

Yes, Ami was definitely the quiet one in their group and Makoto was just fine about it. She herself was known for her short temper and tendency to act before she thought, so they balanced each other out perfectly. Ami was a calming influence on her, and had a quieting aura about her that Makoto found comforting.

"Mako-chan?"

Makoto jerked out of her reverie. "Wha?"

Ami giggled. "Gomen, Mako-chan, but you had been staring into space for some time now. Are you feeling alright?"

Makoto rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. I guess I was zoning out there, huh."

Ami smiled at her kindly. "It's okay. We have been working for quite a while now; maybe we should take a break. I just want to get to the end of this chapter, perhaps you could make us some drinks whilst I finish?"

"Sure thing."

The brunette stood up and stretched, before making her way to the kitchen. She took a carton of juice out of the fridge and two glasses out of the cupboard. As she was pouring the drinks she glanced at the clock and noticed that it was heading towards dinner time. She picked up the glasses and made her way back into the living room.

"Hey Ami-chan, it's starting to get late. Did you want to start for supper, I was thinking about making ram-" Her words were cut off as she caught her foot on the edge of the rug and she lost her balance, the glasses flying out of her hands and towards the table. That was when everything slowed down.

Beat. The full glasses fly out of her hands and towards the table.

Beat. Ami lowers her book and turns her head towards Makoto.

Beat beat. The glasses hit the table and bounce.

Beat beat. Ami turns her attention to the glasses and widens her eyes.

Beat beat beat. The glasses overturn as they bounce, spilling juice all over the table. The table that houses Ami's notebook and textbook.

Flatline.

Makoto didn't dare to breathe. There was juice everywhere, dripping all over the table and onto the floor. Ami's notebook had caught the brunt of the spillage and it looked like liquid had soaked right through from cover to cover. Her science textbook, which she had lowered towards the table when Makoto started talking, had juice all over the top half, and it was making rivulets down the pages.

"Ami-chan, I…I'm sorry…"

Her apology was cut off when Ami stood up from the table, her fists clenched at her sides, a dark look on her face.

"Sorry? Those were my notes for the whole _term_, Mako-chan, I spend _hours_ writing them out, finding time in between school work, homework, cram school work and saving the _world_ to finish them, and you're sorry?" Her voice rose as she was talking, in both pitch and volume, and she was shaking in barely-contained rage. For a brief moment Makoto entertained the notion that the girl in front of her was about to turn bright green and burst through her clothes before going on a rampage. She immediately dismissed it as highly unlikely.

"I…it was an accident Ami-chan, I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix it!" Ami was breathing heavily now, the shaking getting more violent.

"Ami-chan, please calm down, maybe we can find a way to dry the books off." Makoto was starting to seriously worry now. She knew that Ami took her studying seriously (after all she was the number one ranked student) but she had never seen her after her work had been destroyed.

"Calm down?! I'll give you calm down! Mercury star power…make up!"

There was a blinding flash of light and suddenly Sailor Mercury was standing in front of Makoto, a wild look in her eyes.

"Better you run Mako-chan, before you need to find a way to dry yourself off."

Makoto backpedalled out of the room as fast as she could, before turning on her heel and sprinting out of the front door. As she made her way down the apartment stairs, the sound of rapidly approaching water in her ears, she couldn't help but think two things. One, that it was always the quiet ones, and two, she was right about that rampage.


	5. Pixel (Setsuna)

**Pixel**

Setsuna was quietly sitting at the kitchen table, glancing through the newspaper as she sipped on her afternoon tea. She was relishing the rarely-given opportunity to sit idle for a time. Between her studies for university and her Senshi duties, the majority of Setsuna's spare time was spent on her responsibilities as a housemate and mother, and her duties at the Time Gates.

Fate seemed to be cutting her a bit of slack though, because just last night she had finished writing a treatise on the issue of quantum entanglement when considering space-time, Michiru was spending all day at the recording studio and Haruka had volunteered to take Hotaru to something called ComicCon. Setsuna didn't pretend to know what such an event was, but understood that it celebrated films, games and comic books. She had cast her eye over some of memorabilia the pair of them had accumulated in the TV room and was stunned by the fantastical monsters, the rife scientific inaccuracies and the implausibility of the heroes that all of the discs seemed to feature. Not unkindly she put forth the opinion that the two really need look no further than their own front door if that was what interested them, but the suggestion was met with two equally blank faces. She had backed out of the room then, and hadn't raised the subject again.

Honestly though, whoever came up with these things certainly knew how to spin money. Calm, mild-mannered Joe Average by day, masked hero of the people by night. It was like watching her life. Maybe there was some way they could be making a profit on their heroism. No, that was churlish; they did it because it was right, not because it was profitable. Besides, the Outers had more money than they could spend. Although, to be on the safe side, she better not raise the idea around Usagi and Minako. Those two were certainly…enthusiastic when it came to gaining and spending money.

She was distracted from her thoughts when she heard the front door open and two voices cried out greetings.

"Setsuna-mama, we're back!"

"Tadaima, Setsuna."

She put her cup of tea down and called back "in the kitchen."

She could hear the sound of little running footsteps and barely had time to stand before a purple-haired blur rushed into the room and threw itself into her arms. She hugged Hotaru back warmly and pressed a kiss to her head before smiling at Haruka, who came in rather more sedately, laden as she was with bags and boxes. "Did you have a nice time, Hime-chan?"

"Yes Setsuna-mama, it was really good! There were so many people dressed up, and loads of cool stands and I got my photo taken with Darth Vader!" Hotaru said excitedly, turning her attention to the bags Haruka put down on the kitchen floor, pulling all sorts of brightly coloured merchandise out of them.

"Darth…" Setsuna turned questioningly to Haruka.

"It's a character from Star Wars Setsuna, don't worry about it." Haruka knew her green-haired housemate wasn't particularly au fait with science fiction and didn't want to bore her with details. Hotaru meanwhile had found whatever it was she had been searching for and spun round with it to show her mama.

"Setsuna-mama, look at this. We found a man selling loads of them. Doesn't it look cool?" She thrust it proudly at Setsuna.

Setsuna took it rather warily and examined it. It was flat, about the size of a paperback book and appeared to be made from small coloured beads that had been somehow affixed to each other. As far as she could tell it was supposed to be a person but the design was rather blocky and difficult to make out. She moved it back and forth in front of her eyes to try and focus. Setsuna could see Haruka trying to suppress a smirk out of the corner of her eye. "It's…nice, Hime-chan."

Luckily Hotaru hadn't noticed her confusion and carried on. "It's Ryu! I got Ken and Cammy as well but he's my favourite."

Setsuna kept an interested expression fixed to her face and glanced to Haruka for context.

"Super Streetfighter" the blond muttered. Setsuna nodded as if she understood and turned back to their daughter, who seemed to be waiting expectantly for her to say something else.

"Oh, um, so it's your favourite is it?"

Hotaru nodded. "Yeah, Haruka-papa and I play all the time even though the controls are hard. I like the way this one looks because it's like a sprite."

Setsuna nodded numbly. Sprites were supposed to be fictitious creatures akin to imps weren't they? What did that have to do with the thing she was holding? Between her extremely long lifespan and her continuing education, Setsuna liked to think that she knew a thing or two about a thing or two, but conversations like this left her floundering. Still, Hotaru seemed to like it. She handed it back to the little girl. "Why don't you take these things upstairs and I'll make us some snacks?"

"Okay Setsuna-mama" Hotaru said happily and scampered away, taking with her the only bag she could manage to carry.

Setsuna sighed. Haruka walked over and threw a friendly arm around her shoulder. "You know Sets, you're going to have to find the time to relax and play games and watch films with us."

Setsuna sighed again. "I know, but at the moment I don't see it happening until Crystal Tokyo."

Haruka tried again. "It'd let you spend more time with Hime-chan."

Setsuna knew that she was right. No matter how important something was, family was always more important. "Well, now that I've finished my university project I do have a few days to spare. When Michiru gets home why don't we have a film night, spend some time as a family?"

Haruka smiled. "I bet Hotaru would like that very much."

"Good. Now what was she saying about pixies?"

"Sprites, Sets, she was talking about sprites. It's a way of drawing something on the computer, focusing on the pixels."

"Ah."

"You'll get to grips with all the terminology soon. You'll be LARPing and cosplaying and all sorts."

Setsuna winced. What was she letting herself in for?

* * *

><p>OMAKE:<p>

Setsuna: What is this film called again?

Hotaru: It's Iron Man, Setsuna-mama.

Setsuna: Iron Man? What's his super power, helping out on laundry day?

Hotaru and Haruka: …

Setsuna: *sweatdrops*

Hotaru: No, Setsuna-mama…

* * *

><p>AN - poor omake I know, but I was dying to get that lame joke in somewhere! This was inspired by my very own trip to ComicCon - loads of people make characters out of Hama beads then iron them to stick them together. They look pretty cool, even if they are quite pixelated and you can't make out who its supposed to be! Feedback always appreciated.


	6. Yin-yang (RxM)

**Yin-yang**

Everyone knows that opposites attract. 'It would be boring if we were all the same' people say, and they are right. Rei and Minako's relationship is a perfect example of this.

Physically, they are like night and day. Rei is all dark features and raven-black hair, offset by milky white skin reminiscent of the moon they once served. Minako seems to radiate warmth and brightness, and her golden hair is almost a mirror for the sun's rays.

They are both slim and athletically built of course. No one could possibly pull off a revealing sailor fuku if they were carrying a few extra pounds. However, Minako possesses a certain physicality earned from her years of volleyball training, strong powerful legs and good core muscles, whereas Rei, thanks to her strenuous duties as a miko, has a more sinuous strength, with a better developed upper body.

Personality-wise, they are like chalk and cheese. Minako has an effortless charm, enthralling people of all ages with her enthusiasm and friendliness. She would be the first off her feet to try an activity and usually the last one to sit back down again. Rei is a lot more reserved. She isn't one for capering or making a fool out of herself, and people usually think she is a bit stand-offish because of it. She is impeccably mannered, but doesn't suffer fools gladly. She is much more likely to lose her temper, but is infinitely patient when it comes to studying and praying. Conversely, Minako has the patience of a saint when it comes to dealing with people, but show her a textbook and she would lose interest within seconds.

Nobody was particularly shocked when they all turned up at the shrine one day, and Rei and Minako were waiting for them, hands entwined. Rei hung back slightly, affecting an air of disinterest whilst Minako excitedly told the rest how they had gotten together. Everyone was thrilled for them of course, with hugs from Ami and Makoto, and Haruka and Michiru giving off an air of 'we knew it all along'.

When the girls had gone and the couple were cuddled up on Rei's bed, the miko asked whether Minako knew about yin and yang. She explained that it was a Chinese concept suggesting that forces that appear to be opposite are actually complementary. She turned her head slightly, cheeks flushed, and said she thought it was a perfect descriptor for their relationship. Yin and yang, Venus and Mars; pairs that could never survive and flourish without each other.

Minako waited all of two seconds before she threw herself on her girlfriend and kissed the life out of her.


	7. It Was Still Monday (Ami)

A/N – This isn't important to the story, so feel free to skip it. The original prompt was 'it was still Sunday' but I changed it to Monday. I don't know if any readers have worked or do work nights, but Monday is always the worst day of the week. Up well before the crack of dawn Monday morning, pottering about all day (studying in my case), if you're lucky you can have an hour's nap before you have to get ready for 10pm. The eight hour Monday night shift is still counted as Monday until 6am Tuesday morning. Then, you drag yourself home, eat something and crash. Monday usually lasts about 28 hours!

* * *

><p><span><strong>It was still Monday<strong>

**12.33am.** Ami glanced at the clock. It was getting late. Well, it was getting early. She needed to be up for school in six hours' time. She looked at her textbooks and decided that being four chapters ahead was good enough for the time being. Time for a quick shower, then bed.

**12.47am. **She was just wrestling her pyjama top over her head when her communicator went off. Youma attack downtown. She sighed and glanced longingly at her bed. Hopefully this would be quick.

**03.26am. **She must have been joking when she hoped this would be quick. A dozen youma were rampaging through a residential district, overturning cars and destroying walls. It took Mars, Venus and Jupiter at least an hour to subdue the creatures, with Moon and Mercury running interference. Once the creatures were gone it was obvious that they could hardly leave the streets in the state they were. The five of them spent the next hour and a half trying to make the roads as presentable as possible before deciding to call it a night.

**04.15am.** Ami had fallen into bed as soon as she got back home and was trying to calm her mind down so she could get to sleep. Just over two hours until she had to be up…

**06.30am.** The harsh screeching of the alarm clock jolted Ami awake and she silently cursed as she realised it was time for school. She was exhausted already and the day had yet to start.

**12.23pm.** It was getting on for lunchtime and Ami wasn't feeling too bad. She had had two cups of strong coffee earlier in the day and they seemed to be working. She could feel her concentration waning slightly (although not as much as Minako and Usagi, who made no secret of the fact they were sleeping at their desks) but overall her two hour sleep didn't seem to be affecting her too badly.

**03.54pm.** Ami was making her way to cram school when she felt the fatigue start to creep back in. The blue-haired genius was well-used to working herself hard when it came to her studies, but there was something about the lack of sleep that was getting to her today. Perhaps she woke up in the middle of a REM cycle. She could feel her mind wandering in and out but carried on regardless. She tried to cheer herself up by calculating the number of hours remaining until bed, but felt even more exhausted when she realised it was six.

**06.04pm. **With every step she took up the long stairs leading to the Hikawa shrine, Ami could feel herself becoming more and more tired. All she wanted to do was stop and sleep, but she knew their weekly Senshi meeting was important. Even if there wasn't an immediate threat to the city, Luna and Artemis liked for the girls to get together and bond without any other distractions. It was a time for discussing new training techniques or simply reminiscing about their past lives. Ami usually savoured this time but today she just couldn't wait for it to be over.

**8.34pm.** She was finally home. Rei and Mako had provided them all with a wondrous dinner at the shrine so she was pleased she didn't have to worry about food. Her mother had a complicated case at the hospital and was sleeping there, so there was very little to eat in the house. Ami took a long, relaxing bath and changed into some comfortable clothes. She knew she had done more than enough work for one day, but she had an upcoming science project she needed to start. She brewed a cup of tea and took it to her desk to begin work.

**10.55pm.** An electronic voice raised in panic jarred Ami awake. She was face-down at her desk, a horrible crick in her neck, an empty sheet of paper in front of her. She touched the back of her hand to her still-full cup and realised it was stone-cold. Her communicator was still sounding, so she wearily noted down the location of the youma and slumped back in her chair. Rolling her head to the side, she groaned when she saw the clock. It was still Monday. She fumbled for her transformation wand and stumbled out of the front door.

* * *

><p>End notes – I'm not sure about the format of this. I wanted to try it this way to see if I could get across just how wearying it is working constantly on very little sleep. Ami seemed like the perfect host for this prompt. I'd love to know what people think these drabbles, any feedback or comments would be appreciated.<p> 


	8. Strawberries (RxM)

**Strawberries**

It had to be illegal, what she was doing. There was no way on Mars what she was watching could be rated PG. Weren't there public decency laws, for crying out loud? And why was it starting to get so hot?

Rei tugged at the collar of her haori, trying to create a breeze to cool her overheated skin. It was a warm spring day, and the sun was right over the top of the Hikawa shrine. Under normal circumstances that would be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Rei was feeling hot. As for her racing heartbeat and her suddenly sweaty palms? That had more to do with what she was witnessing.

She turned her gaze back to the sight before her. This was a shrine for Kami's sake, a pure and sacred place. There was no way this was an appropriate place for watching something this wanton. Rei had the vague idea that she should be going over there and putting a stop to it, but her feet seemed to be on a different wavelength to her mind and refused to move. Heaven help her if her grandfather came outside and saw, he'd probably have a heart attack. Admittedly he would be ecstatic, but still, he'd have a heart attack nonetheless.

Rei could feel her mouth go dry, and wiped her palms on her hakama in a vain attempt to dry them. This was starting to drive her crazy. She'd have to go over there and…well, her body knew what she should go over there and do, and her face flushed red at the thought. Still, it couldn't continue. It wasn't decent.

Minako was perched on the wall next to the shrine, blonde hair fluttering slightly in the breeze and her long legs swinging slowly back and forth. On the wall next to her was the source of Rei's discomfort.

She watched in agony as Minako gently plucked another strawberry out of the punnet, her long slender fingers wrapped around its body. It was raised up to her mouth, slightly reddened already from the juices, and pursed lips welcomed the fruit. A small red tongue darted out and licked a caressing circle around the tip. Rei stifled a groan at the sight. There was a brief flash of pearly white as teeth sunk into the delicate flesh, and an explosion of nectar ran out of Minako's mouth and down her chin. She uttered a guttural moan, and Rei could almost feel herself coming apart. All the blood was rushing out of her head and making its way south, and she was starting to feel dizzy. By the Moon, please say she wasn't going to faint. She'd never live it down. Her eyes were fixated on Minako's throat now, the way the muscles moved and shifted as she swallowed.

Unbeknownst to the miko, Minako was watching her out of the corner of her eye, and was inwardly dancing at the effect she was having on her normally stoic girlfriend. Rei hadn't moved in minutes now, and since she had started her snack slash seduction, she could hear the way her breathing had picked up from here. She was well aware that Rei wasn't as comfortable with sexuality as she was, and whilst she would never push her into something until she was ready, she didn't see the harm in a little casual flirting.

Smirking only a little bit, she sucked each finger into her mouth in turn and moaned as she clean all the stickiness from them. Having decided she had probably put Rei through enough torture for one day she neglected to pick another strawberry up, and instead, with a quick toss of her golden mane, turned and winked. "Ne, Rei-chan, want a strawberry?"

She barely had time to react as Rei finally figured out how to get her feet to move, and threw herself forward, crashing their lips together with a desperation that made Minako's heart lurch. As the need for breath became urgent, Rei broke her lips apart and grabbed Minako by the hand, pulling her inside.

The kiss had left Minako unable to think clearly and she mumbled "where are we going?"

"Bedroom."

"Oh. Okay"

* * *

><p>When Minako woke up the next morning she lay tangled up in Rei's sheets and reflected on the past few hours. She could never have guessed the effect her strawberry seduction could have had on the miko, but she was so glad that she had done it.<p>

* * *

><p>AN - 'Haori' and 'hakama' are the two parts that make up a miko outfit. Haori being the white kimono top and the hakama being the red pleated trousers.

I know food-based flirting has been done to death but I wanted to give it a try. Please let me know if you enjoyed it, or think anything is OOC or whatever. If I can improve anything for next time I'd love to know.


	9. Feather (HxM)

_ A/N - a bit of early morning Haruka and Michiru fluff. Enjoy._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Feather<strong>

Haruka could feel the gentle caress of the sunlight fall on her closed eyes and shifted slightly until she was lying more comfortably. She was in that delicious early morning state; just awake enough to be conscious of her surroundings, but not too awake that she couldn't fall back asleep again. She pulled the covers slightly further up to cover herself completely in warmth, and settled back again. After a busy week, full of important races and concert recitals, it was finally Saturday and the wind Senshi was looking forward to doing absolutely nothing.

She could feel her consciousness drift in and out, and she let it. The sunlight falling on her was warm enough to be relaxing, but not yet at the stage where it was irritating. She felt a little bit like Goldilocks; the bed, the pillow, the warmth, everything around her was just right. This is what weekend mornings were supposed to be like.

Haruka lay there a little while longer. She could feel her mind and her body slowly begin to wake up, but she was certainly in no hurry to rush the process along. A little sigh of contentment escaped her as she continued to luxuriate.

A slight tickling sensation on the end of her nose started to drag Haruka out of her comfort-induced haze and she wriggled her nose to make it stop. That seemed to do the trick and she sunk back into her pillow to fall asleep once more.

A minute or so passed, and the tickling came back again. Haruka huffed slightly in annoyance, and turned her head to the side, burrowing it in her pillow. She could feel the relaxed state of mind start to wear away, and she really hoped this would be the last of the interruptions. Kami knew she loved her fast-paced career, with its ability to make her feel close to her element. She loved her family to death as well; Michiru as the other half of her soul, Hotaru as the daughter she never knew she wanted and Setsuna as the sister she never had. Haruka just sometimes wanted a few minutes in the morning, to decompress the mania of her life and refresh herself.

The racer had almost fallen back into sleep before the tickling came back again, lighter than before. There wasn't any buzzing, so it was unlikely to be an insect. The most likely suspect was that it was a wisp of hair, but hers was too short to reach her nose, and she couldn't smell the delicate, slightly floral scent that Michiru's hair carried. Haruka couldn't feel the soft weight of her love against her body either, which was unusual. On the rare occasion they didn't go to bed with their legs tangled and bodies flush against each other, their subconscious minds sought each other out anyway. After all this time it still gave Haruka a slight thrill to wake up and feel Michiru's body moulded into her own.

It was unlikely that Michiru had gotten up already, for she loved a lazy weekend as much as anyone. Haruka slowly cracked one eye open and involuntarily curled her mouth up in a small smile when she saw the beautiful sight of her aqua-haired lover propped up on one elbow, gazing lovingly down at her.

"Morning Michi," she mumbled, her sleepy state making her voice come out in a lower pitch.

"Good morning, Haruka," Michiru replied, and leant down to place a small kiss on the end of Haruka's nose. As she reclined to her former position, Haruka noticed her left arm, the one Michiru wasn't leaning on, lying in between them, and in her hand was…

"A feather?"

Michiru grinned. "Yes, a feather."

Haruka connected the dots immediately and pouted playfully. "The same feather you were using to tickle my nose and wake me with?"

In lieu of an answer, the aquanette brushed the tip of the feather against Haruka's nose a third time, before retracting her hand for good.

"Where did you get a feather from?"

Michiru smirked. "Well, you were a little bit…vigorous, when you brought me up to bed last night. My pillow was an unfortunate casualty, and seems to be shedding rather a large number of feathers."

Haruka smirked back and raised herself up on her own elbow so they were face to face. "I didn't hear you complaining at the time."

To her secret delight, a blush started to stain Michiru's cheeks, and in an effort to regain her composure she replied "We'll have to go out and by new pillows, and I'd like a new duvet as well."

Haruka groaned and threw herself back down "But its Saturday! Everywhere will be packed, and I just want to hang out here with you."

Michiru leant her head down and whispered in Haruka's ear, "the sooner we go out and buy pillows, the sooner we can come back and break them in."

She wasn't shocked at all when Haruka shot upright and dragged her by the hand out of the bed and into the shower.


	10. I Thought She Was A Painting At First

**I thought she was a painting at first**

I was walking along the beach around about dusk when I spotted a shape in the distance. This area was pretty far off the beaten track and it was unusual to see anyone this far away from the promenade, especially when it was getting dark. As I walked closer I could begin to make out two shapes, both dressed in the red and green uniform of what I vaguely recognised as one of the local schools. They were standing side by side, the one in the female uniform closest to me, her long aquamarine hair cascading down her back. Her companion (from the lack of space between them, and the male uniform I guessed he was her boyfriend) stood tall next to her, hands in pockets, blonde hair obscuring much of his facial features. From the angle I was walking at it was clear that I would pass to close to them, so I altered my course slightly to ensure I didn't intrude. My approaching footsteps must have made some noise against the sand and shells because they both turned away from the sea and faced my approach.

I thought they were a painting at first. I stopped dead, my breath catching in my throat. I could swear that I could hear faint music, and the scent of roses. The way they stood, side by side, tall and proud, with the grey sea roaring behind them and the pale pink of the setting sky rising above their heads. It was almost ethereal, like there was something other-worldly about them. The smaller one, her long green skirt fluttering slightly in the breeze had an air of elegance and grace about her, a level of sophistication that was rarely found in someone of her age. The contours of her face were smooth, and her deep blue eyes held a hint of mystery in them, like she could see through into your soul. She looked utterly at home here, the two elements entwined in the background, her companion at her side.

As I dragged my gaze across from her to her partner, I realised that even though the uniform was one traditionally worn by men, the body it encased was female. She was tall and slender to be sure, but her jawline was a little too smooth to be male, and the slight suggestion of curvature against the crisp white shirt was undeniably female. Her green eyes had a piercing quality to them; not cold, but wary, as if she were considering whether or not I was a threat. She had a considerable height difference over the aquanette, but the way she stood at her side was protective, not overbearing. It would seem my initial categorisation of her as a romantic partner wasn't wrong, but my choice of gender was.

We stood that way for a few moments more; I still rooted to the spot with shock, and them watching me with polite interest. The tall blonde relaxed her stance slightly, and that seemed to be her partner's cue to talk.

"It's a lovely evening for a walk along the beach, isn't it?"

Her voice had a wonderful melodic quality to it. I nodded in answer, still too awed to speak. They closed the distance between us, stopping a respectable way away. She spoke again.

"There is something about the way the ocean and the sky meet at this time of day that is especially appealing. They are both wonderful in their own right, but seeing them together like this…it is inspiring, don't you agree?"

I nodded dumbly again. I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but I was enraptured simply by the sound of her voice.

The blonde placed her hand on the small of her companion's back, and the aquanette nodded in response to a question I didn't hear get asked.

"Enjoy the rest of your walk, please excuse us." She bowed her head towards me, and the blonde gave me a polite smile. They both turned and headed into the setting sun, the light gently closing around them.

I watched them until they were out of sight. The music I could hear from before played quietly in my ears, and I was struck by a sudden urge to paint a masterpiece, or write a symphony, anything to express my feelings at the truly magnificent scene I had just experienced. I turned and headed for home, my head reeling with thoughts of the couple I had just encountered, with the ageless eyes and the beautiful souls.


End file.
